It will likely be a month before Illinois finds out who won Tuesday’s gubernatorial race.

At a press conference Wednesday morning in Bloomington, Republican candidate Bill Brady told reporters he’s waiting for all the ballots to be counted and certified by the State election board.

“The state board allows a minimum of 20 days for the local officials to certify and a minimum of 10 days for them to certify so realistically we think we’re looking at a 30 day process at a minimum,” Brady said, “There is the complication of the military ballots and the federal investigation looking into that.”

There are a total of 16,500 military ballots that have not been counted, including just over 2,800 that went out late from 36 counties.

Brady currently trails incumbent Democrat Pat Quinn by about 8,300 votes. Brady would have to win more than half the military ballots to win the election, though some of those overseas ballots came in before the election and were counted election night.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A computer problem that prevented some
poll workers in Missouri from accessing the state’s online voter
registration database has been resolved.Laura Egerdal, spokeswoman for the secretary of state’s office,
says the problem was fixed as of about 2 p.m. Tuesday.

She said poll workers reported having problems trying to search
the statewide voter registration database when polls opened. The
database is used if a voter is not listed on a printed voter
registration list.

Egerdal said the problem did not affect any other aspect of
administering the election or counting vote totals.

Roy Blunt joined thousands of Missourians from across the state, who headed to the polls this morning to cast their ballots in the November 2, General Election. Blunt cast his ballot at his hometown polling place at approximately 10:45 a.m., at the Glenstone Baptist Church in Springfield. Blunt is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring, U.S. Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond. Bond previously endorsed and feverishly campaigned across Missouri with Blunt. (UPI/Bill Greenblatt)

Marshall Griffin, St. Louis Public Radio (2010-11-02)

JEFFERSON CITY, MO. – Republican U.S. Senate nominee Roy Blunt is awaiting the vote in his hometown of Springfield.

He and his wife Abby arrived at Glenstone Baptist Church around 11 a.m. to cast their ballots, with their young son Charlie in tow.

Blunt spent the day before flying around Missouri, making ten campaign stops before returning home to Springfield late last night.

Campaign Chair Ann Wagner says Blunt appeared at more than 930 events during the entire length of his campaign, and will spend the evening with family and friends, “eagerly awaiting the only poll that counts.”

Blunt’s watch party is being held at the University Plaza Hotel in Springfield. He’s hoping to defeat Democratic nominee Robin Carnahan. The winner will succeed retiring U.S. Senator Kit Bond (R).

As political groups across the country prepare to challenge voters’ eligibility, lawyers in St. Louis are working to make sure voters know their rights.

Dozens of attorneys will be staffing an Election Protection hotline on Tuesday to answer voter questions and ensure election laws are followed. It is legal to challenge a voter’s eligibility or identification, but challengers don’t have the final say on who can cast a ballot.

“We’re concerned that some challengers may not be fully trained on the instances where a challenge would be legitimate or that poll monitors, poll workers or voters might be confused and think they can’t vote simply because a challenge is raised to their eligibility,” said Denise Lieberman, a co-organizer of the non-partisan hotline.

Lieberman said that those denied the right to vote should request a provisional ballot and call the hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE. If necessary, lawyers can be sent out to polling places to sort things out.

Election Protection can sometimes provide more help than government-sponsored hotlines, Lieberman said.

“Where the voter can simply call and report a complaint, they may not actually get to speak to someone, certainly not someone who can then be dispatched out to that polling place to advocate on behalf of the voter,” Lieberman said.

Voters can also call to verify that they are registered, locate their polling place and get information about ID requirements.

Election Protection is a national coalition, established after the 2000 election. It is supported in St. Louis by a coalition of two-dozen organizations, including the Missouri Bar Association. Voters around the country can get connected with local advice by calling 1-866-OUR-VOTE, or 1-888-Ve-Y-Vota for information in Spanish.

Governor Jay Nixon made a rare campaign appearance Monday for fellow Democrat Robin Carnahan at an event in Excelsior Springs, near Kansas City.

The governor has been mostly avoiding the campaign trail this year, which he suggests can also be a winning strategy. Nixon says he can best help Democrats running for office by doing his job as governor.

“What’s the old line? ‘Good government is good politics,'” Nixon said. “We’ve had a good last six months when it comes to job add(s), compared to the six months before…we’ve maintained our credit rating, (and) we’ve been very fiscally disciplined.”

And Nixon says those factors give Democratic candidates something to talk about with Missouri voters.

More than half of the state’s voters are expected to cast ballots next Tuesday.

The Associated Press is reporting that about 2.1 million ballots are expected to be cast in the Show-Me-State next Tuesday.

At least that’s what the secretary of state’s office thinks based on calculations by the state’s local election
authorities.

If the projections prove true, it will be pretty average for a Missouri turnout. In recent non-presidential election years ranged from 43 percent in 1998 to 53 percent in 2006.

Laura Egerdal with the Secretary of State’s office says the 51 percent projection is about average for a non-presidential election year. But she also warns that long lines are possible late in the day.

“If you can, you should get out on your way into work or over the lunch break or during the afternoon to take advantage of the shorter lines that typically happen during those hours,” Egerdal said. “But if you need to come at the very end of the day, as long as you’re in line at 7 p.m., you will be allowed to vote.”

The highest projected turnout is 71 percent in Osage County, and
the lowest is 21 percent in Jasper County.